The Chair of the Jasper Environmental Association informed me that it would be best if the JEA and I go our separate ways. In response I wrote a letter to the entire membership, posted below. But first, here are responses from two of the members, very happy that I have been expelled. Below my letter, a response from a former member who disagrees with the expulsion.

Ben Gadd surprises me the most. He was a draft dodger from the USA during the Vietnam war, and he always told us that we should question everything, don’t trust authority, and that governments lie to us all the time. So of all people, I would have thought he would be a little more open-minded. Even the 9-11 story was too much for him to see through when we had that debate a few years ago. He already labelled me a “conspiracy nut” back then.

Please know that we support the decision to expel Monika from the JEA. Allowing her to remain a member would reflect badly on the organization, and other members are bound to be uncomfortable with her presence at meetings.

This is not about free speech. Holocaust denial is just plain evil. It’s terribly insulting to survivors and their families, it’s a fraudulent attempt to rewrite history, and it’s a thin cover for antisemitism, which has a horrible record of injustice and human-rights violations going back many centuries.

For these reasons and others, holocaust denial is an indictable offense in many countries, especially in Europe, either directly or as hate speech.

In Canada, at least four people have been convicted of hate crimes (and the convictions upheld on appeal), including Eckville school teacher Jim Keegstra. German-born holocaust-denier Ernst Zundel, who spent four decades in Canada and whose writings Monika recommends to us, was deported to Germany as a security threat. He was promptly arrested there and imprisoned for five years. For a good article about hate crimes in Canada see http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/when-is-it-hate-speech-7-significant-canadian-cases-1.1036731.

Western democracies enshrine freedom of speech. But promulgating anti-Semitic lies is not allowed. Monika is risking federal prosecution for her public denial of the Holocaust. As long-time friends and admirers of Monika, we are saddened to see her take up this specious and dangerous cause. We hope that she will come to her senses. Until she does, we will have nothing further to do with her, and neither should the JEA.

— Cia and Ben Gadd

Then came this response from another member.

Dear Members of the Jasper Environmental Association,

I know my soul……..no need to search. I, too, support the expulsion of Monika Schaefer from the JEA.

Monika appears to have no insight or understanding into the atrocious implications of her statements. I see her as an advocate for hate.

Having Monika in the group would only erode the credibility of the JEA. I would not attend meetings if she were in attendance.

Monika Schaefer is now experiencing ritual defamation. She is being shunned and ostracized in her home town of 5000 people where she has lived as an active community member and leader for 35 years. She released the YouTube video “Sorry Mom, I was wrong about the Holocaust” on Alfred S — Monika’s brother’s channel (17 Jun 2016):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0_BZ…

Since then she has been in the international News which you can follow on the links below. Monika has been an active leader in her community in Jasper, Alberta, Canada as a violin teacher, musician and involved in politics.

Her Green Party background is that she ran three times federally (2006, 2008, 2011) and once provincially (2004). She also attended the founding convention of the Green Party of Canada in 1983.

TRANSCRIPT

Part 1/2

[29:07 minutes]

[00:00]

Paul Fromm: We have a lot of free speech issues this afternoon to look at. We should have a day-long seminar, but it won’t last all afternoon. Our guest speaker is Monika Schaefer and she has really be through a lot and her story really is a disgrace. To Canada, to her community and to Canadians in general. You know, we as a people like to pat ourselves on the back about how human rights oriented people we are! We’re the nice guys. Oh, we’re kind. What’s our Trust Fund kids say, “we’ve got to bring our sunny ways”.

Well, I’m afraid that a lot of ordinary Canadians are pretty mean, pretty nasty. The way they behave is not all the image they have of themselves and Monika’s story is a rather shocking example of what can happen, on the part of mean spirited Canadians. And I’m not just talking about one or two people, bad guys. We’re talking about a fair number of people in a community where Monika has worked for thirty five years. Well known, she’s been a real community activist. She donated her violin playing to all sorts of community events. She’s run four times for the Green Party. In other words, she’s a known quantity in a small town. People, by a large, really liked her. She’s very sunny, giving personality. And when you hear the story of what has happened since June, I’ve got to say it. It will probably make you feel, as I feel and that’s pretty disgusted. That’s part one of Monika’s story.

Part two, she’s going to be talking about a good friend of hers who is also going through an incredible experience. He has been like, not actually fired, he’s suspended without pay. I suspect that works out about the same thing. Suspended without pay, not for anything he did in the classroom. And he’s a tenured university professor. But for political views he has expressed on his own time, on the Internet. And it points to the outrageous power, essentially a secret government, … They are not all that secret. And then we have, very briefly we touch on a couple of other free speech cases.

So Monika, I think this is really your first time in Vancouver speaking, and she’s a person who graduated from Ottawa University in Ontario, in Environmental Studies?

Monika Schaefer: Well, I took one term at the University of Waterloo, but I got my degree at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton.

Paul:So, and then she went on to work for the federal government in Parks, and so on. And so she had a wide career and, of course, lived most of her adult life in Jasper, Alberta. Very well accepted in the community and THEN she did something called, “putting up a video on YouTube.” No it wasn’t a “porno”, and suddenly all hell broke loose. So, I don’t want to spend any more time on that. I think you’ll get to know Monika very well if you haven’t already done so. Monika Schaefer.

Monika: Thank you. [applause]

Thank you Paul for organizing this and thank you all for coming. I really appreciate that. I know it’s Thanksgiving long weekend and you probably have family, you know, that you like to spend time with. And I really appreciate it that you came.

So yeah, this talk is kind of evolving because things are happening so quickly, day by day, as we speak. Day by day, the situation is changing. Not just on a local level and a regional level, but world-wide. And it’s very concerning.

From: Van Iderstine, CarsonDate: Wednesday, 5 October 2016Subject: Freedom to ask questions and investigate the human condition now and in the past as well as in the future.To: Anthony James

It’s very upsetting to hear this. I hope you know that I and others have truly enjoyed your classes; they have always been very interesting, relevant, and brought to life by your excellent personality.

This is a blow to academia everywhere, and represents the loss of a critical and questioning academic environment.

I hope that you will be reinstated as a fully tenured professor with all the perks that that entails.

Again, I want to emphasize how much I enjoyed your class and the life you brought to it, and that I’m very sad to see it go.Continue reading →

Hello! I’m Monika Schaefer. I was born and raised in Canada, first generation Canadian citizen of German heritage. My parents both came from Germany. They immigrated to Canada in 1951 and ‘52, respectively.

There was a bit of a disconnect between what I experienced in the home life and what I felt outside the home. I love the rich German traditions and culture that I grew up with and yet, I felt ashamed of my Germanness when I was at school, or outside with my friends. I learned very quickly to hide my heritage.

It started in the first week of school. Day one, I wore my beautiful little dirndl, a traditional German dress and on day two, children were taunting me:

‘Oh you forgot to take off your apron! Ha ha ha!’ as they were running away, or ‘Heil Hitler! Ha ha!’, again taunting me.

[Image] German women wearing dirndl. A dirndl is a type of traditional dress worn in Germany, especially Bavaria; Austria; and the South Tyrol, based on the traditional clothing of Alps peasants.

I didn’t exactly know the meaning of that, but I knew it was not friendly. They were being cruel. That was very clear to me.

I’m reminded, just now, of the plight of the indigenous peoples of North America. They were also made to be ashamed of their culture.

I would like to share with you now a deep regret that I have for something which I would like to apologize to my parents for, but cannot, because they are no longer alive.

Blogs I Follow

Author John Wear reveals evidence contradicting the narrative we have been taught about Germany, Japan & the Allies in World War II. WEARS WAR is the battle to bring FAKE HISTORY into accord with the facts.